There is only one rule in interior painting which is paint first.  Paint before laying flooring, hanging drapes, positioning furniture, and installing lighting.  The painting industry announces the color trend each year.  Neutral wall colors will facilitate the on-trend color pops that can be inexpensively added to a room as pillows, rugs, artwork, or small appliances.  Interior painting should be done every 3 to 5 years to keep the rooms fresh and attractive.  Depending on your family, lifestyle, and activities the home may need painting more often to avoid a dingy appearance.

Color Scheme

Creating a color scheme will direct your color choices for the room.  Although monochromatic rooms are popular, complementary colors will allow you to showcase certain areas.  A knotty pine wall in a burgundy room will be rustic farmhouse.  A hunter green accent wall in a cream dining room will add elegance.  One or two colors as accents will make the room pop with color and charm.

A balanced palate will make the home a relaxing environment.  A balanced palate refers to a bold primary color, lighter secondary colors, and a white in the same tone as the primary color.  Matching the undertone of the white, which will be used on trim and moldings, is very important to the cohesion and brightness of the room.  Color clutter, a room full of divergent and varied colors, will be overwhelming and intense.

Monochrome rooms are increasing in popularity in 2022.  Any color can be the base color for a monochrome design.  To achieve a monochrome palate, one color is selected as the base color.  The lighter and darker tones of the one color are used for all furniture, lighting fixtures, and accents in the room.  This creates a relaxing and calm feeling in the room.

Accent

Accent walls have been used for years to highlight collections or artwork in a room.  Painting the ceilings, a shade darker or lighter than the walls is a trend that is increasing in popularity.  A darker ceiling makes the room feel intimate and cozy in a large home.  Painting the ceiling a lighter color makes the room feel bigger and brighter in a small home.  Painting doors to closets can be done in the color of the walls or in a complementary color to showcase the door.

Trim colors follow trends as well as wall colors.  For the past 20 years, trim and moldings have been white.  Selecting a white in the same tone as the wall colors creates a feeling of cohesion.

However, for theme bedrooms like a sport team, doing the room in grey and the trim in dark blue to match the team colors will highlight the posters and collectables.  For a retro look, trim can be finished wood.  Trim can be lighter or darker than the wall color but should not match the wall color.  Painting the trim will make the room feel larger and less oppressive.  Using a painting APP will let you see the wall color and the trim color in the room before committing to this edgy look.

Neutrals

Neutrals are a design choice that does not match all home décor.  Additionally, neutrals are not as popular anymore.  Neutrals have red, blue, or yellow undertones so care needs to be taken to match the undertone to the furniture, artwork, and collectables in the room.  Blending neutrals is only effective if the undertones match.

On trend for 2022, is the new color griege.  This is a mixture of light grey and light brown.  As a neutral it has a forgiving palate that goes with almost any style furniture, drapes, pillows, or artwork.

Pops

Pops of color have been on trend for many years.  Having a neutral wall color and pops of red or blue or green pulled a room together.  Pops of color should be bright and bold colors but should take only 10 percent of the items in the room.  A good rule to remember is primary color 60 percent, secondary color, like ceiling and trims, 30 percent, and pops of color 10 percent.  The 60-30-10 rule will generate a cohesive design.

On trend is to reverse the pop of color formula.  For example, paint the walls in seafoam green, the ceiling and trim in a sandy white beige, and the pops with pillows and artwork in a dark beige.  This creates an unexpected appearance that still delivers a feeling of cohesion and peace.

Pattern

Walls do not have to be solid.  Although wallpaper is not as popular as it was in the 60s to 80s, pattern painting is increasing in popularity.  A huge variety can be achieved using pattern like balls, lines, intersecting lines, tree branches, or geometric shapes.  Pattern painting is done with stencil templates or taping markings.

1. Paint the wall the lighter of two colors and dry 24 hours.
2. Adhere a stencil to one corner of the wall with low-tack painter’s tape or repositionable spray mount.
3. Paint over the stencil using the secondary color with a foam roller from a painting tray.
4. Remove the stencil while the paint is still wet. Be careful not to smudge the paint.
5. Position the stencil to the right and align with the previous design.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 until the area to be painted is complete.

Texture

Texture painting can be done in one color and use light to highlight the pattern.  This can be a more subtle design than pattern painting when done in monochrome color.   Depending on the effect to be achieved, techniques range from stamping, sponging, color wash, ragging, stripling, frontage, and dragging.   The wall is painted with a base coat of one color and then the technique is used to create a textured effect.

1. Stamping uses a 3D stamp that is dipped into paint and pressed onto the wall.
2. Sponging using a natural sea sponge is dipped in paint and applied over the base color.
3. Color wash has a glaze added to a paint color and is a thin layer applied over the base colored wall.
4. Ragging is applied onto the base colored wall. The ragging color is mixed with a glaze and the rag is rolled across the wall for the textured effect.
5. Stripling is achieved by using a sturdy brush to jab against the wall for the textured effect.
6. Frontage is the same as ragging, but wax paper or newspaper is used.
7. Dragging is achieved by dragging a brush vertical across wet paint on the wall to achieve a brushed texture.

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LOOKING FOR AN EXPERIENCED & REPUTABLE HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTOR IN THE ORANGE COUNTY, NEW YORK AREA?

If you’re looking for the best contractor for installing a deck in the Sussex County area, check out Alfieri Renovations Remodeling + Design!  Since 1992, we have been offering remodeling and design services for all parts of a home, interior and exterior.

We manage everything from start to finish.  Our high-quality home renovation and remodeling services will not only improve your home interior, but also increase the value of your property (exterior painting, however, is not one of our services).

For years, we have remained among Sussex County NJ & Orange County NY’s Most Preferred Licensed and Insured Home Contractors!  Service towns in the Sussex County, NJ and Orange County, NY area include Hamburg, Goshen, Warwick, New Milford, Sussex, Andover, Wantage, Newton, Sparta, Hopatcong, Montague, Frankford, Hardyston, Vernon Township, Stanhope, and many more!  Call Us at (973) 862-1640 to bring your dream home to life at reasonable prices!